Can the Mules Sweep the Scotty Wood Tournament?

Plenty of Philadelphia suburbs will be represented this weekend in the annual Scotty Wood Tournament. For the 35th year, Muhlenberg College’s early season tournament will bring together seven schools from the Northeast corridor for two days of Division III college basketball. Both of Muhlenberg’s teams are looking to use the Scotty Wood Tournament as a catapult into successful seasons.

In addition to Muhlenberg, the schools coming to Allentown for the weekend are Bryn Athyn, Widener, and Immaculata for the women and Keystone, Wilkes, and Merchant Marine for the men.

Women’s Tournament Preview

The Muhlenberg women’s team is coming off a historic season, a year in which they reached the NCAA tournament, but fell to Christopher Newport University in the second round. The Mules enter the 2016-17 campaign with significant purpose—ranked 17th in the women’s Division III poll, as they hope to win games across the country and bring national attention to the school. ‘Berg is boosted by the return of Division III assists per game leader Brandi Vallely ’18, who had a spectacular season in 2015-16. Vallely’s season line of 14.6 points per game, 9.4 assists per game, 7.5 rebounds per game, and 3.3 steals per game, has landed her a spot on the third preseason All-American team in Division III. The Mules also boast last year’s leader in three-point percentage, Rachel Plotke ’18 (48.6%), who averaged 15 points per game last year.

No other participant in the upcoming Scotty Wood tournament can claim the recent accomplishments of the Muhlenberg women. Though Immaculata University won three championships in the 1970s under Hall of Fame coach Cathy Rush—whose career 149-15 head coach record is astounding—the so-called Mighty Macs are coming off an 8-17 record last season. Immaculata lost their leading scorer, Reilly Larkin (18.3 ppg) due to graduation. Thus, in order to finish the Scotty Wood tournament with a positive outcome, the Mighty Macs may look to forward Tamyra Laws, who averaged 13.6 points and 12.5 rebounds per game last year.

With a tiny student population of just 300, one would think Bryn Athyn College’s women’s team could barely compete, but last season they finished with a 15-11 overall record and 13-7 in their conference. Led by Kristina Clark, who averaged 21.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in 2015-16, the Lions are poised for a high finish in the Northeast Athletic Conference – they were picked third in a preseason poll. Look for Je’la Watson to carry the perimeter scoring for the Lions, too. The senior took more than 10 shots per game last year, and was a critical part of the team.

Coming off a disappointing 6-10 conference record and 13-12 overall, Widener University enters the 2016-17 season without last season’s leading scorer, Brianna Wylie (14.4 ppg). Now that Wylie, who also led the Pride in rebounds, has graduated, Allison Gallagher ‘18 looks to lead Widener into the start of their season. The Pride may be the best matchup for Muhlenberg, as they boast three players taller than 5’11’’. Emily Gardy ‘19, who made three starts as a freshman, has a big opportunity to make a weekend statement through rebounds and interior defense.

While all four women’s teams have their own unique strengths, Muhlenberg appears too deep and too strong for the other three participants. It may not be an easy competition, but I predict the hosts are poised to win the Scotty Wood Tournament for the second straight year.

Men’s Tournament Preview

Coming off an 11-14 season and a Scotty Wood first round loss to City College of New York, the Muhlenberg men are looking for some redemption this weekend. Hoping to roll out the same balanced offense as last season, the Mules will need to work hard in order to win their first Scotty Wood championship since 2013-14. Led by Brandon LaRose ’17 and Nick Rindock ’18, the Mules are a solid rebounding team, outnumbering their opponents by 4.8 per game in 2015-16. If Muhlenberg can play to their rebounding strength, force turnovers, and keep their games within reach, they may be poised for a tournament victory.

Muhlenberg opens up the Scotty Wood tournament against the United States Merchant Marine Academy, who finished with the same record (11-14) as the Mules last season. One of the five United States service academies, the Mariners stumbled down the stretch last year and lost their final six games. Without two of last season’s three top scorers, the Mariners need to look elsewhere for significant contributions. Matt Miller, a 6’3’’ guard, averaged 13.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last year and will lead Merchant Marine. The Mariners have plenty of size and length also, but they haven’t chalked up a winning season in four years. Will they start the new season on the right track this weekend?

Picked 7th in their conference’s preseason poll, the Keystone College Giants may be looking at a grim and frustrating season. Though they return to the court with two of their top three scorers – Deion Monroe and Devin Williams – the Giants turn the ball over excessively (15.2 per game) and commit a lot of fouls (21.6 per game). While Keystone likes to push the ball, they struggled on defense last year. Their opponents shot 44.7% from the floor, while the Giants averaged 40.5%. To go far in the Scotty Wood tournament, Keystone must take care of the ball, make their shots, and play smart on defense.

Keystone’s first round opponent is Wilkes University. A young team with no seniors, Wilkes only has two returning starters from last year’s roster. Shooting guard Marcus Robinson ’19 is set to lead the offense for the Colonels, who fell one win short of an NCAA Tournament birth last year. They lost by three points in the MAC Freedom title game to Delaware Valley, and lost four seniors in the offseason. Though the Colonels are slotted at fourth place in the MAC Freedom preseason poll, this young group will have to push harder for a successful season. Connor Evans is the only other returning starter for the team, as he led the team with 3.2 assists per game in 2015-16. Last year, the Colonels shot, and made, plenty of three-pointers, and they outrebounded opponents by 5.2 boards per game. They have clear strengths, but it will be interesting to see if this young group can create another successful season.

Overall, the men’s tournament seems tighter and more competitive than the women’s. The Muhlenberg men have three worthy opponents on the horizon. While any team could win this weekend, I’ll pick Wilkes University to sneak through Keystone and stun the Mules at home for the championship—but I hope I’m wrong.